Till My Soul Unravels
by GakuenAlicefan27
Summary: Sometimes, Call would toss and turn in bed dreaming about what Master Joseph had told him - how Constantine had transferred his soul to baby Callum Hunt's body; how the boy's daemon had become dust the moment the baby's soul had been kicked out; how Eris had reverted back to an unsettled state when Constantine's memories were erased. - Or: A Magisterium Daemon! AU


A/N: Hi, guys! Here's the thing: I'm weak for anything that involves daemons, so when I finally had inspiration to write a Magisterium Daemon! AU, I simply had to do it!

For those who are not familiar with the concept, a daemon is a physical manifestation of a person's soul. Daemons are able to shapeshift between animal forms when their humans are young, but they settle into permanent forms when their humans reach maturity, and the forms they settle as are indicators of what their human's souls are like.

"Till My Soul Unravels" is the first fic in a series of Magisterium Daemon! AU fics I'm writing. If you look for it on AO3, the series' name is "A Place for Daemons to Roam".

There's a list at the end of the fic with all named daemons, their settled forms (if they were mentioned), and their respective humans, because I know these things can get confusing.

And of course, happy Magisterium Day 2k17!

I also published this fic on AO3 (username: MidnightHalo27)

This fic is not canon compliant with The Bronze Key, but there are hints to things that were revealed in it.

Disclaimer: The Magisterium book series belongs to Cassandra Clare and Holly Black, not me. The Daemon concept is based on the book trilogy "His Dark Materials", by Philip Pullman, and I, obviously, don't own it.

I hope you like it! Reviews, kudos, etc are great! Constructive criticism is very welcome, but flames will be used to roast marshmallows.

* * *

 **Till My Soul Unravels**

 _by: GakuenAlicefan27_

Call knew, for a fact, that he had never worried about what Pax would settle as before he found out he had Constantine's soul. But now, four years later, he couldn't even remember what not worrying felt like.

He knew what people said; he heard them talking about Eris every once in a while – how she settled the day Jericho died; took the form of a wolf due to Constantine's grief and the rest was history. They avoided talking about her when they could, but when they did, it was with the same hushed tone used to scare children into behaving themselves: you better be good, or the big bad wolf will come and get you.

In Call's case, he'd better be good or Pax would become the big bad wolf.

~x~

It had taken Call and Pax some time to get used to being in close contact with other people and their daemons. Up until twelve years old, they didn't have friends, and the only other person and daemon they interacted with daily were Alastair and Aella, who were not the touchy type and didn't care much whether their behavior was considered polite or not.

To be honest, even now, at sixteen, Call still didn't get why it made others so uncomfortable when he would talk directly to their daemons or when Pax would talk directly to their humans.

(He and Pax had made several people and their daemons uncomfortable during their first months in the Magisterium, but most of them had gotten used to it by now).

(They liked annoying the ones who hadn't).

Still, Call would like to believe that they had gotten better at the whole "touchy" thing. It was kind of impossible not to get used to it when you were friends with Aaron Stewart, after all; his Aurora was nearly always all over Pax or Tamara's Athamas.

~x~

Call had nightmares more often than not.

Sometimes, they were about that day in the bowling alley, when he had first seen chaos-ridden humans; how they were daemonless, for the chaos magic that kept them animated had destroyed their souls. Sometimes, he dreamed of the moment Drew was killed by the chaos elemental; how his daemon screamed in agony and turned to dust.

That scream would haunt Call till the day he died.

~x~

The thing about daemons is: they are your true nature; they are the heart you have no choice but to wear on your sleeve. It's easy for humans to pretend, but much harder for daemons, which is why everybody knows that if you want to know what someone really is like, you should observe their daemon rather than them.

Athamas is bolder than Tamara gives the impression of being; more mischievous too. Aurora is a tidbit (a lot) more impatient than Aaron. Call figures she acts the way Aaron would like to but refrains from because of his self-consciousness.

Rory is not self-conscious. In fact, there are times she's almost as cheeky as Pax.

She also has the habit of curling around Pax whenever she has the chance, which is bound to give Call a heart attack one of these days.

Jasper's Cassiopeia and Pax actually get along, which is how Call knows that most of his banter with Jasper nowadays is just playful.

Master Rufus' owl daemon, Freyja, is ten times more sarcastic than he is, which is saying something. She also doesn't hide the fact that Pax, Aurora, and Athamas are her adopted children and if you touch them you better start running.

(Tamara says it's because they are kids, but Call has seen how Freyja acts around Alastair's Aella even now. She loves all her children fiercely, no matter their age).

Call doesn't see how Pax differs from him, but Aaron and Tamara insist that she manages to be even more of a devil may care than Call, so there is that.

~x~

Sometimes, Call would toss and turn in bed dreaming about what Master Joseph had told him - how Constantine had transferred his soul to baby Callum Hunt's body; how the boy's daemon had become dust the moment the baby's soul had been kicked out; how Eris had reverted back to an unsettled state when Constantine's memories were erased.

Needless to say, going to sleep has become something Call dreads.

~x~

Being someone's counterweight is…something else.

They must have done it more than a hundred times, but Call still can't help the feeling that runs through him every time he feels Aaron's chaos magic tugging at his soul; tugging at Pax.

It's a type of connection that feels more intimate than anything else; perhaps even more intimate then if Aaron were directly touching Pax.

And Call knows how the reverse feels too; how it feels when Aaron is the one counterweighting him. Call senses Aurora in a way that should be impossible, his magic wrapping around her as she keeps him grounded…

It feels, for lack of better word, intense.

~x~

Sometimes, Call had dreams about the future.

He dreamed that he ended up just like Constantine, and Pax settled as a wolf, and suddenly everyone knew the truth and they started talking about Pax the way they talked about Eris.

To Call, having a pet wolf was no problem at all, but if Pax settled as a wolf, he didn't know what he would do.

~x~

"So," Tamara says as they are hanging around in the gallery, Athamas in the shape of a robin on her shoulder. "Why does Anastasia Tarquin like you so much?"

"What?" Call asks, watching as Pax and Rory play catch with Cassiopeia. "What are you talking about?"

Tamara raises an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

Call shrugs. They had run into Anastasia and her daemon when they were on their way to the Gallery, and they had chatted for a while. Her daemon had been friendly, but he had always been friendly, so Call didn't understand what Tamara was going on about. "Her daemon is friendly, so what?"

Tamara shook her head. "He's friendly, alright; with Athamas and with Rory, but he's something else with you. He's…caring, doting; I don't understand."

"Maybe you're exaggerating." Call said, opening his arms for Pax as she came running towards him.

Tamara frowned. "I'm not, Call. I swear I think he likes Pax much more than he likes anyone else, including Mirfak."

Mirfak was Alex's snake daemon. Call had to admit that, while Alex and Anastasia were cordial to each other, their daemons didn't seem to have the best relationship.

To be fair though, Mirfak was a strange daemon; his personality way too different from Alex's friendly one. He didn't seem to like Call nor Pax, even though Alex acted like he liked them a lot.

Perhaps Call should worry a little more about that.

"Are we talking about Anastasia's daemon?" Pax asked.

"Yes." Tamara answered. "Do you feel like he acts different around you?"

Pax was quiet for a few moments, thinking. "I guess he does."

"You don't think it's weird?"

"It should feel weird, but it doesn't. He seems…familiar." Pax jumped to Call's shoulder. "I don't know how to explain, but he does; even when we saw him for the first time, he felt familiar."

Tamara and Call exchanged a look. Tamara didn't say anything, but her eyes showed worry.

Athamas shifted positions on Tamara's shoulder, stretching so he could nuzzle Pax. "Please, be careful." He said.

Call nodded, deciding to pay more attention the next time he saw Anastasia.

~x~

"Do you think they're gonna settle soon?" Jasper asked, taking a bite of lichen.

Celia looked up from where all their daemons were chatting beneath the table. "I think so. They tend to settle around our age."

"What do you think they'll settle as?" Rafe asked, and soon enough everyone was engrossed in a conversation about what form they thought suited them best.

Call remained quiet.

~x~

The next day, Call, Tamara and Aaron were studying in their living room when Aaron stuttered, suddenly looking very embarrassed. Before Call could ask him what was wrong though, he felt his face grow hot as a tingly feeling ran up his spine.

He turned, looking for Pax, and found her all curled up to Rory on the sofa, both of them in cat form. Pax's head was buried on Rory's fur as Rory nuzzled her and licked her face, their tails intertwined.

Call spluttered. "Pax!"

"Leave us be." Pax said.

"Better yet," Rory said, momentarily pausing her licking of Pax. "Follow our example. Man up some."

"Rory!" Aaron exclaimed.

Tamara did a horrible job of hiding her smile behind her hand. Athamas didn't even try to hide his amusement.

Call blushed darkly. He didn't know if he was angry at Pax for having the nerve, or if he was angry at himself for not having the nerve.

Aaron hid his face in his hands, and Tamara patted both their backs sympathetically.

Neither Call nor Aaron talked about it, because they were idiots.

~x~

Two days later, Tamara caught them by surprise.

"How about we talk for a bit?" She asked, coming up from the kitchen with mugs of hot chocolate.

Call and Aaron, who had been playing cards in their living room, looked at each other and shrugged. Athamas jumped in between Aurora and Pax and the three of them started mock fighting.

Aaron grabbed the mug Tamara offered. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Settling." Athamas answered. Both Rory and Pax froze in place.

"Settling?" Call asked, dreading the confirmation.

"Settling." Tamara nodded, sipping on her hot chocolate. "Both of you spend way too much time worrying about it."

Aaron ducked his head and kept his eyes on the ground. Call looked at him in surprise. He hadn't thought Aaron, of all people, worried about this; hadn't noticed it either.

Tamara's eyes softened. "What's bothering you, Aaron?"

Aaron sighed. "It's…I don't know, really. I'm just…wondering. We're getting older, but I don't feel like I know who I am. Not for sure. I can't see Rory settling now, you know?"

Rory turned into a guinea pig, trying to make herself look small. Pax turned into a fox and blocked her way before she could hide somewhere. Athamas nudged her fondly.

"What if she just…doesn't settle?" Aaron blurted out, at last.

Call raised his eyebrows. "Of course she's gonna settle. Every daemon settles, sooner or later."

"I know!" Aaron groaned. "That came out wrong. What I meant to say was: what if everyone's daemons settle, but Rory doesn't? What if I keep on waiting and waiting, but she only settles like, five years from now?"

Call put a hand on Aaron's shoulder. "You don't think you're ready?" He asked, feeling guilty that he hadn't noticed Aaron was going through something like that; feeling guiltier that he felt a little relieved knowing he wasn't the only one freaking out about settling.

Aaron didn't look him in the eyes when he answered, which sent a pang through Call's chest. "Who am I, anyway?" He whispered. "People call me The Golden Boy like I'm this perfect guy who's supposed to do great things, but am I really? I don't feel like a Golden Boy. I don't even think I want to be one."

Call didn't know what to say. He grabbed Aaron's hand and squeezed it tight. From the corner of his eye, he saw Pax nuzzling Rory.

"I'm terrified of settling." Call found himself admitting. "I'm terrified I'm just like Constantine and Pax will end up settling as a wolf. I think about this every night, sometimes even during the day."

Aaron whipped his head to stare at him with wide eyes.

"I never noticed…" He began, but Call just shook his head before he could continue.

"It's okay. I never noticed any of the things you said either."

"You two…" Tamara went to them and crushed both in a hug. On the ground, Athamas took the form of a monkey and hugged Pax and Rory too.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Tamara eased her grip a little to kiss both their foreheads. "Listen here." She began, looking at Aaron. "You have to stop expecting some kind of big revelation that will allow Rory to settle. People romanticize this stuff way too much. There won't be a moment in which you'll say _Oh, I am insert-list-of-adjectives-here_ and she'll settle.

Aaron laughed.

"And you," She continued, looking at Call now. "I don't think you're like Constantine, and I don't think Pax will settle as wolf; but if she does, it won't be the end of the world, okay? It's your life, you decide how you live it."

Call swallowed down a lump in his throat. "Okay."

"Really?"

"I'll try my best."

"Good."

After that, they remained huddled together until it was late enough to go to sleep and then parted ways. Once in his bedroom, Call sat on his bed and let out a long sigh.

"Hey, Call..." Pax said, turning into a rabbit and jumping on his lap.

Call ran a hand through her ears. "What is it?"

She wriggled her nose. "We're gonna be okay."

The funny thing was, he thought so too.

He smiled, putting Pax beside him on the bed. When he lied down, she turned into a butterfly; black wings with white tips fluttering as she flew to his nose. He laughed, and she flew to his hair, nesting herself there. Call felt good in a way he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Good-night, Pax."

"Night, Call."

~x~

The next day, it was already late in the afternoon when Call realized she still hadn't changed from that butterfly form.

* * *

List of named daemons:

Call: Pax - settled form: butterfly (black wings with white tips)

Aaron: Aurora - unsettled

Tamara: Athamas - unsettled

Jasper: Cassiopeia - unsettled

Alex: Mirfak - settled form: snake

Master Rufus: Freyja - settled form: barn owl

Alastair: Aella - settled form was not mentioned

Constantine: Eris - settled form: wolf (Eris and Pax are the same daemon)

Thank you very much for reading!

I always love to talk about anything Magisterium related! You can find me on tumblr as agarotado27dejunho


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